Sustainability of plant-based meat alternatives

Science Sessions are brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, National Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us.

In this episode, researchers discuss the environmental, health, and economic tradeoffs that limit the potential benefits of plant-based meat alternatives.

In this episode, we cover: •[00:00] Introduction •[01:19] Rodolphe Barrangou explains the potential opportunities and challenges for plant-based meat alternatives to help mitigate the environmental impact of meat. •[03:18] Marco Springmann compares plant-based meat and milk alternatives with both animal-sourced foods and unprocessed plant-based foods across multiple metrics. •[05:16] Bill Aimutis highlights the potential environmental impact of producing plant-based proteins. •[07:04] Ute Weisz finds significant variability in the amino acid scores and functional properties of commercially available plant protein ingredients. •[08:51] Zachary Neuhofer analyzes trends in plant-based meat alternative consumption, based on two years of grocery store scanning data. •[10:16] Evelyne Selberherr analyzes the microbial communities found in plant-based meat alternative products. •[11:56] Matin Qaim analyzes the impact of animal-sourced foods on child nutrition in five Sub-Saharan African countries. •[13:59] Final thoughts and conclusion.

About Our Guests: Rodolphe Barrangou Todd R. Klaenhammer Distinguished Professor North Carolina State University

Marco Springmann Senior Researcher | Professorial Research Fellow University of Oxford | University College London

Bill Aimutis Executive Director North Carolina Food Innovation Lab

Ute Weisz Professor Technical University of Munich

Zachary Neuhofer PhD Candidate Purdue University

Evelyne Selberherr Assistant Professor University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna

Matin Qaim Schlegel Professor of Agricultural Economics University of Bonn

View related content here: https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2400495121 https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2319010121 https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2319003121 https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2319019121 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-16996-5 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41538-024-00269-8 https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2319009121

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